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When it comes to insurance costs these days, many Americans are likely trying to find any way they can to trim some fat from their monthly expenses. However, that's not always easy, and in fact, it seems that many companies actually may leave these consumers waiting for a few days when they try to switch insurance carriers. For insurance agents, that may provide a chance to be a little more opportunistic when it comes to connecting with potential clients.

The average amount of time consumers have to wait to get a call back from an insurance agent after they contact a company is 2.3 days, according to secret shopper data from the latest Insurance Industry Online Buyer Experiences study from Velocify. In addition to this significant wait time, another nearly 2 out of 5 potential customers never received a call back at all. Further, 34 percent never heard back about an email they sent to a company, and 17 percent felt they had been completely ignored.

""The largest insurance companies in the country spend billions of dollars each year to stand out from the crowd, however, this research shows they often fall flat once buyers show up,"" said Stuart Ganis, director of insurance vertical at Velocify. ""By failing to respond to prospects quickly and adequately, these large organizations not only miss opportunities to add new customers, but create an invitation for competitors to swoop in.""

Do companies give up on potential leads?
In addition, even when insurers do try to make contact with consumers following emails or phone calls, it seems that if they cannot generate a sale quickly, they often stop calling relatively soon, the report said. On average, the number of callback attempts was just 1.45, and follow-up emails was 1.56, well below what studies show to be most effective at generating business. In general, research shows that companies should attempt to contact potential clients between five and seven times within three weeks or so to maximize their returns.

Insurance agents who are more attentive to the needs of not only current customers, but future ones as well, might be able to engender a little more satisfaction and loyalty. That is often something that can spell the difference between an increased interest among clients in shopping around, or sticking with the coverage they currently have. 

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